- The Filipino-American Chief of
Staff of the Commander Submarine Group of Seven on port call here was
impressed with the improvements being done on the various facilities
of the former military base.
Formerly the Subic Bay Naval Base, the Freeport has been
successfully converted as the country's first Freeport, economic,
industrial, and tourism hub.
"I was so ecstatic to see former military barracks converted
into a first-class hotel where I decided to spend my five-day visit
here," US Naval Captain Dick Corpus, the only senior Fil-Am officer
in the Submarine Group of 7 consisting of a fleet of 25 submarines,
told reporters here.
He added that he was extremely amused to see several military
buildings and warehouses transformed into manufacturing plants,
commercial banks and tourism-related businesses ventures such as
duty-free stores and restaurants.
The USS Santa Fe, an American Navy nuclear-powered submarine,
docked in the port of Subic last Wednesday to allow its 120 officers
and men for a rest and recreation for five days.
Subic Bay is USS Santa Fe's last stop before she heads back to
her home port, the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It arrived here from a
six-month deployment around the Gulf area in the Middle East.
Capt. David Marquett, commanding officer of the USS Santa Fe,
told reporters during a press conference held at the lower deck of
the submarine, that the visit of the American Navy is not strictly
for rest and recreation purposes.
It is also meant, he said, to establish good relations with
freeport authorities and officials of local communities.
"We would like to establish a continuing interaction and
cultural exchange between US servicemen and the communities around
the area of the Freeport, particularly those Aeta tribesmen where we
can extend assistance to them," Marquett said.